Kratix — Platform as a Product for Kubernetes

Backstage handles the portal — the developer UI for service catalog and documentation. Crossplane handles provisioning — declarative infrastructure as code for cloud resources. Kratix handles composability — promise-based platform services that combine provisioning, policy, and workflow into a single declarative API. It is the missing layer between portal and infrastructure.

Promise-Based Platform¶

A Kratix Promise is a declarative definition of a platform service. The platform team defines the Promise (what the service offers, which parameters it accepts, what happens on request), and the dev team consumes the Promise through a simple API. A Promise contains a resource definition, workflow pipeline, and default configuration. The developer does not need to understand the underlying infrastructure — they just fill in a request and Kratix orchestrates everything needed.

Complements the Ecosystem¶

• Backstage: UI layer -> Kratix: fulfillment engine that fulfills requests from the portal
• Crossplane: Cloud resource provisioning -> Kratix: orchestration of entire workflows around provisioning
• Argo/Flux: GitOps delivery -> Kratix: decides what and where to deliver

Kratix does not compete with existing tools — it complements them. Backstage displays the catalog, a developer requests a new service, Kratix orchestrates namespace creation, database via Crossplane, CI pipeline via Argo, and monitoring via Prometheus.

Compound Promises¶

Promise “Production-ready microservice” = K8s namespace + PostgreSQL + CI pipeline + monitoring + networking policies. One API call, entire stack. Compound promises compose simple promises into complex wholes. The platform team can thus offer a golden path — one click and the service meets all company standards for security, monitoring, and deployment.

Kratix Is the Missing Piece in the IDP Puzzle¶

The promise-based model is intuitive for developers (request and receive) and composable for the platform team (build from existing blocks). An elegant abstraction for internal developer platforms.